1/ Why has Saudi Arabia"instead of helping Palestinian people and
solving regional problem"allied with Israel and supported terrorist
groups in the region?

EW: To understand this requires looking at the background to Saudi reality today, which is the subject of my book Islamic Resistance to Imperialism.
The idea behind the Saudi-Pakistani-US understanding that led to the
Afghan collapse in the 1990s and on to 9/11 was/is a Saudi-led hegemony
in the Muslim world (acceptable to the US), where Pakistan would preside
in Central Asia. What are the results of a century of Islamic rule in
Saudi Arabia, and 70 years in Pakistan? In short, precious little as a
guide to other Muslim nations.

Saudi Arabia (28 million), founded in 1932, and the Gulf states (10
million), which achieved 'independence' in the 1970s, claim to be the
first countries in recent times to be governed by Islamic principles, at
the same time satisfying the demands of empire to keep the Muslim world
operating within the imperial order.

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Given its prominence as guardian of the holy places and its
ability to project its influence through its alliance with the US,
including promoting its Wahhabi version of Islam, and financed by its
immense oil wealth, it is not surprising that many Muslims look to Saudi
Arabia for guidance in implementing Islam in their daily lives, and
refuse to see the evil lurking behind the Saudi 'pact with the devil'.
The Muslim world is divided between those who unthinkingly follow the
Saudi lead, and those who genuinely struggle to rid the Middle East of
western hegemony and alter the dead end Saudi course.

Saudi King Faisal (r. 1964-1975) was the best of the Saudi
monarchs"intelligent, competent, uncorrupt, sincerely promoting his
conception of Islam, assassinated by a relative under suspicious
circumstances following the 1973 oil embargo. This was the only time a
Saudi king stood up to the US and Israel, and he disappeared with no
trace of his determination to help the Palestinians remaining. The
subsequent Saudi kings learned their lesson: to keep their immense
personal wealth, it is necessary to compromise Muslim principles and
support of oppressed Muslims. That means allowing Israel and the US to
have free rein in controlling the political situation.

I don't think the Saudi leadership actively supports ISIS, but it
definitely supports rebels who follow Saudi directives and policies,
following US direction. Of course some rebel groups shift allegiance
(Osama Bin Laden being the most famous example) or pass on arms to
others, so the US-Saudi arms funneled into Syria can end up in other
hands.

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The rise of al-Qaeda and now ISIS is more a result of the shame
that many Saudis feel when they see their own government acting so
venally. That means funding such Wahhab-inspired anti-Saudi rebels (if
you are a rich Saudi) or sacrificing your life to go to fight 'jihad'
(if you are a poor Saudi). Saudi bombing in Yemen is more focused on
weakening the genuine forces of change -- the Shia, and undermining
Iran's positive influence on them to confront their Saudi tormentors and
to establish a genuine independent Muslim state in Yemen.

The narrow, quietist Islam of the Wahhabis can never predominate in
the thinking of Muslims, so Saudi dreams to be the Muslim 'capilphate'
are pipe dreams, just as are Pakistani dreams to control Central Asia.
We live in tragic times, and must recognize the reality and keep to a
clear forward path. Supporting the Palestinian struggle is central to
that path, and will eventually correct the distortions in Saudi
behavior, and bring together Sunni and Shia in alliance, the only way to
solve the crisis.

2/ On the anniversary of last summer's Gaza War, we see that despite
the high toll of Palestinians, in the public opinion Israel is
considered as defeated and Palestinians are deemed as victorious. What
is your opinion about this reality?

EW: Public opinion is a loaded term. For people who are already
critical of Israel, the continued atrocities it inflicts on the
Palestinians are recognized, but most westerners are not aware of or are
indifferent to world events. They are indoctrinated by the mass media,
which is pro-Zionist and dresses up its pro-Israeli bias with
hypocritical finger-wagging at Israel, rather than recognizing the evil
that Zionism and now "post-zionism" (the convergence of the zionists and
the orthodox religious Jews) represents.

So it is early to say that the Palestinians are deemed victorious. On
the other hand, the Palestinians need only show their determination and
courage, continuing to fight the monster, to win, in the sense that
Israel cannot wipe them out or make them subservient to Israeli plans.
But this has been the case all along, since the first Palestinian
uprising in the 1930s.

Yes, Israel can continue to build illegal settlements with the
tacit support of the US, but the ability to settle all of the occupied
territories is limited. The flood of supposedly racially acceptable Jews
(many of whom are not racially or spiritually Jewish at all) has dried
up. Israel is no paradise, and never will be, given that all its
neighbors are committed to destroy it, or -- in the case of quisling
governments like the Saudis -- rein in its excesses and ensure some
acceptable solution for the Palestinians.

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3/ What is the reason of the Israel's latest attacks on Syria? Do you
think that these attacks are related to supporting terrorist groups in
Syria?

EW: Previous Israeli strikes were aimed at deterring shipments of
Iranian missiles and other weaponry to the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah
movement. Sunday's raids were probably no different, said Jeff White of
the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The bombing raids had
less to do with the dynamics of Syria's civil war than with the
Israeli-Hezbollah equation. Syrian state TV said several missiles had
hit a transport centre and public building in the Golan Height's
Quneitra area. Earlier rockets landed near a village in northern Israel.
There were no reports of injuries in either attack.

Israeli officials blamed the rocket strike on the Palestinian
group Islamic Jihad, which is supported by Iran, and which had
previously threatened reprisals should Israeli prisoner Mohammed Allan
die of a hunger strike. Allan called off his fast on Wednesday after
going 65 days, when an Israeli court suspended his detention, just days
before the bombing which sparked the Israeli reprisal on Sunday. Was the
bombing just 'for good measure'? Islamic Jihad denied responsibility.
Clearly Israel fears Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, who indeed Iran
supports, as should all Muslims and all people of good will.

Eric writes for Al-Ahram Weekly and PressTV. He specializes in Russian and Eurasian affairs. His "Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics and the Great Games" and "From Postmodernism to Postsecularism: Re-emerging Islamic Civilization" are available at (more...)

"The book is very well written...very important in this individualized capitalistic illusory world that enslaves us all within its tentacles and forces us to believe that we are atomized and disconnected beings. Indigenous Lakota people end prayers with "Mitakuye Oyasin...all my relations..." An ancient African proverb states, "A person is a person only because of and with others..." This instructive text is very useful for us living in what we are always told is the modern world, because it reconnects us all and reminds us that ultimately, the endless circle of the Universe binds and connects us all and the Earth is Mother to us with no hierarchy...the ones at the bottom matter the most...like the ants who build mounds and hills, all working in unison and harmony...the book teaches that we were created for community and our destiny is organic community...anything else is doomed..."

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Author Mark Taliano combines years of research with on-the-ground observations to present an informed and well-documented analysis that refutes the mainstream media narrative.